“Because I just do,” Victor snaps back. He takes a deep breath, calming his emotions. “I can’t explain it, Leo. I just know.” Victor walks over and takes a seat at the foot of the bed. “It’s something that my mother told me before she died. I never quite understood what she meant until now.”
Leo takes a seat next to Victor and places his hand on top of Victor’s. “What did she say?”
Victor takes a deep breath and licks his lips. “When it comes to family matters, no other family can get involved.” Victorplaces his other hand on top of Leo’s and looks into Leo’s eyes. “Your coven is your family, not mine. I have to face him alone.”
Leo shakes his head in disagreement. “Victor, you’re not strong enough. Fuck, he extinguished my fireball as he was astral projecting.”
“He wasn’t astral projecting,” Victor comments.
Leo’s face turns white, and his eyes grow wide. “Are you telling me he was physically here? In our room.”
Victor nods slowly. “I’ve been quickly picking up on when someone is physically with me or not.” Victor looks back at the spot on the floor. “My uncle paid me a visit.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The following day, Superior Charles, Superior Jackie, Madame Jeanette, and Akisha sit around the living room with Victor and Leo. Superior Charles looks out the window with his arms crossed.
“Are you certain it was your uncle?” Superior Charles asks.
Victor rubs his temples and moans. “For the last time, yes. I know it was my uncle. I don’t know why it’s so difficult for you to comprehend.”
“It’s just that no one has seen your uncle since he disappeared in 1975,” Superior Jackie comments.
Victor sighs and gets up from the couch. “Let me get my phone.” Victor walks into the bedroom.
Superior Charles turns around and looks at Leo. “Leo, I need you to get a second room.It’s not safe for you two sleeping together.”
“Everything is fine,” Leo responds. “Nothing has happened to me.”
“Leo, just beca—” Superior Charles stops talking when Victor returns to the living room.
“I know what you’re talking about,” Victor explains as he sits back on the couch. “Not only could I hear you in the other room, but your auras changed since I’ve returned.”
Superior Charles cocks an eyebrow. “I see your ability is growing stronger.” He clears his throat, “Well, as I was saying, just because nothing has happened doesn’t mean that temptation won’t arise.”
“We appreciate that you care about us, but we will figure this all out,” Victor affirms.
“The affection between the two of you is all over your auras,” Superior Charles remarks.“Everyone can see it, even if they aren’t empathic.”
“Then we’ll be extra careful,” Victor says, annoyance evident as he scrolls through the photos on his phone. “I think there has to be a reason why you haven’t heard from him since 1975.” He holds up his phone for the others to see. “Because who is this on my fifth birthday?”
Everyone is shocked by the photo.
Akisha takes Victor’s phone out of his hand. “That’s . . . How? He’s been in hiding ever since.”
“There are a few more pictures of my childhood,” Victor elucidates. “He stopped comingaround when I turned eight. Around the same time . . . my mother got sick.”
The front door opens, and Wren walks in. “Sorry I’m late. I got tied up looking for some books for Tabatha. She’s got a witch who’s having issues with Water Magic.” Wren is holding a tome in her arms, the size of a large laptop and five inches thick. “I overheard your question, Akisha, and I think I discovered why we haven’t seen him.”
Wren plops the heavy book onto the dining table and waves her hand over it. The cover flips open, and the pages flutter untilthey stop on a page Wren wants. “According to some records I found, Michael Russo died in 1972, which is weird that he would disappear three years later. So, either that man in Victor’s pictures isn’t Michael Russo,orhe changed his identity.”
Superior Jackie sets her wine glass on the coffee table. “Do you think you could find out if any warlocks somehow appeared unexpectedly in the records?”
Wren shakes her head. “Whatever he did, he did an outstanding job covering his tracks. Even my spells can’t find any discrepancies in the records. And I’m still waiting to hear back from Europe to get access to their records.”
“You only found out about this. How are you so fast looking for shit in a massive library archive?” Victor asks Wren.
“Oh, I’m very thorough,” Wren subtly respondsas she closes her tome with a thick thud. “And I already have access to every record around the globe except for Europe. You can thank the EU for their restrictions to grant access.” Wren turns to Madame Jeanette and asks, “Jeanette, did you see anything?”
